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Sunday, October 11, 2009
Law - "President Obama has yet to name NW Indiana's U.S. attorney general, district court judge"
Andy Grimm reports today in the Gary Post Tribune:
Nearly a year into his term, Obama has yet to fill two of the most coveted political appointments in the region -- the Hammond-based U.S. Attorney post and a U.S. District Court judgeship seated in South Bend.U.S. Attorney appointments often change with a new White House administration. David Capp, a Democrat, has the office now, but there's been no word from the White House on whether he would be retained.
The judgeship in South Bend is vacant since Judge Allen Sharp, who was on senior status, died in July.
The tradition of filling federal posts such as these calls for the senator aligned with the president's party, in this case Sen. Evan Bayh, to forward names to the White House for consideration. The senator's recommendation in turn begins a vetting process of FBI background checks and interviewing.
But Obama has filled just 15 of the 93 U.S. Attorney posts, with another 12 recommendations awaiting review by the Senate Judiciary Committee and three awaiting confirmation by the Senate.
A Bayh spokesman on Thursday said there was "nothing new on the judicial/attorney appointment front," a statement observers insisted could mean Bayh had sent recommendations to Obama, but had yet to announce them.
"I have never seen this process create more speculation," said Bryan Truitt, a Valparaiso attorney with an extensive federal practice. "And every rumor so far has been dead wrong."
The South Bend seat is among the oldest vacancies in the District Court system, left open since Sharp took senior status, a sort of semiretirement, in 2007.
Capp was reportedly being vetted for the South Bend judge seat in the waning days of the Bush administration, though his chances were dashed when the Senate Judiciary Committee announced in late 2008 it would not consider further appointments.
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter's name has surfaced as a potential candidate to fill the judge post. If that were to happen, Carter would become the first African-American to serve on the federal bench in the Northern District of Indiana.
Carter on Friday said he was honored to hear his name, but said he was not pursuing the job.
"I'm in my fourth term, and I'm raising money and campaigning for another," Carter said. "It's always an honor to be considered, but I have not been contacted by anyone about (the judgeship). I like the job I have."
Lake County Judge Salvador Vasquez, who would be only the second Hispanic appointed to a Northern Indiana District judgeship, also has expressed interest in the post. Vasquez declined comment last week.
The vacancy is causing a strain, at least for Chief Judge Robert Miller Jr., say court observers. Miller is the sole judge in the South Bend courthouse, with Judge Christopher Nuechterlein the lone magistrate. Sharp, who was debilitated by kidney disease that prompted his move to senior status, was supposed to continue to take a partial caseload with other judges in the district helping pick up the slack. That plan was dashed when Sharp died in July.
Carter's predecessor in the Lake County Prosecutor's Office, former U.S. Attorney Jon DeGuilio, has also been named as a top contender. DeGuilio, an officer at Munster-based Peoples Bank, did not return calls from the Post-Tribune.
Names remaining in circulation for the U.S. Attorney's post:
* Capp, a Porter County resident, was appointed to replace George W. Bush appointee Joseph VanBokkelen, who resigned to become a federal judge in Hammond. A veteran of more than 30 years in the Hammond federal prosecutor's office, Capp has served in the top job several times on an interim basis, under Democratic and Republican administrations.
* Lake County Judge Thomas Stefaniak, a former state prosecutor, has openly sought the post;
* Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez, who has announced plans to run for governor in 2012, is among the most often-mentioned candidates for the job;
* Schererville resident James Wieser, a longtime Democrat, lawyer and former county councilman, won points with the Obama campaign staff for his handling of a lawsuit over satellite voting offices set up for the election.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 11, 2009 11:17 AM
Posted to General Law Related